A Hudson County man is one of 58 convicts to have his sentence commuted under an order issued by President Barack Obama.

EDISON - A Hudson County man is one of 58 convicts to have his sentence commuted under an order issued by President Barack Obama.

Kenneth Kemp, of Guttenberg, was sentenced to life in prison in 1994 in Virginia for offenses including conspiracy, possession and distribution of cocaine and cocaine base and traveling in aid of racketeering.

On Thursday, Obama commuted Kemp's sentence so that it will expire in September.

The action is part of a broader effort to overhaul the criminal justice system and ease punishments for nonviolent drug offenders. Eighteen of the people whose sentences were commuted were in prison for life.

Most whose sentences were cut short are now due out on Sept. 2, though some will be released over the next two years.

Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates said in a statement that the prisoners have been "granted a second chance to lead productive and law-abiding lives."

The Justice Department revamped the clemency process two years ago to encourage more applications from nonviolent federal offenders.